Slip-over garment



Jan, is, 1970 D. c. LUHR 3,488,776

SLIP-OVER GARMENT Filed March 27, 1968 INVENTOR mm 03 aim/77 ATTORNEYQS' United States Patent US. Cl. 2-109 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A slip-over garment or dickey of abbreviated dimensions is provided in which a body member is formed by sewing together two mating pieces of a stretchable fabric such as nylon. The body member is formed with a pair of armholes, a torso opening, and a neck hole. If desired, a stretchable fabric collar, which can also be nylon, may be sewn to the main body member at the neck opening in order to form a turtleneck, V-neck, boat neck or the like. A zipper may also be included to facilitate donning and removal of the garment. An elastic band about /5" wide is secured to the lower extremity of the dickey around its circumference in order to assist in preventing the garment from riding up on the torso while the wearer is engaging in normal activity.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved slip-over garment such as a dickey, and is intended primarily for use as a partially visible undergarment which is worn under an appropriate outer garment such as a jumper, suit coat, V-neck sweater or the like.

The concept behind the utilization of a dickey or a similar garment is to convey the impression that the user is wearing a full or complete blouse or shirt, when in fact the garment is actually of abbreviated dimensions. In other words, when worn in conjunction with an outer garment, the wearer appears to be an observer to be attired in a normal blouse, since the only part of the garment which is visible does not appear to be in any way unusual. At the same time, the construction enables the garment to be manufactured by using a minimal amount of fabric, in order to achieve a desired balance between satisfactory appearance and economy in cost of manufacture based on the amount of material employed.

Unfortunately however, a dickey-like garment has perennially posed a serious problem for the potential user because of the fact that it has been virtually impossible to prevent the garment from riding up or moving upwardly on the torso of the wearer during normal activity. In addition, the garment tends to wrinkle or bunch up, under the outer garment, thus adversely affecting the appearance of the composite outfit.

There have been many previous attempts to solve this problem. For example, it has been proposed to provide an undergarment in which the upper portion of the garment would have the appearance of a standard cloth fabric shirt or blouse, while the lower portion would be comprised of a contractable or elastic textile material in order to fit the wearer snugly around the waist. An example of this approach can be found in US. Patent 2,222,090. A different manner of coping with the problem involves the employment of an elastic waist band around the base of the garment which is intended to prevent the garment from riding up on the torso of the wearer. Illustrative of this concept is US. Patent 1,927,179. A third approach to the solution of the problem has been to provide what might be termed a button-down dickey, an example of which is set forth in US. Patent 3,099,013.

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None of these approaches has proven satisfactory, however. The garment set forth in Patent 2,222,090 is unsatisfactory because of the fact that it requires what might be termed a full length garment; in other words, the garment appears to be as long as the standard blouse or shirt, thus defeating the basic purpose of a dickey. Moreover, the upper portion of the garment is comprised of a nonstretchable material and is therefore susceptible to bunching, wrinkles and so forth. While the construction disclosed in Patent 1,927,179 purports to retard the upward movement of the garment while being worn, once again the major portion of this garment is comprised of a non-stretchable material or fabric which is subject to the same wrinkling and bunching objections set forth above. The button-down or turnabout dickey disclosed in US. Patent 3,099,013 uses a small amount of material to accomplish its intended objective. However, there appears to be no way in which the garment can be prevented from riding up or wrinkling during use, thereby adversely affecting the appearance of the garment.

It is apparent therefore, that prior attempts to solve the problems associated with the use of a garment of this nature have been less than fully successful. It would seem that in order to completely solve the disarrangement problem, that is, the problem of riding up, wrinkling or bunching of the garment, the dickey must be able to inhibit or retard upward movement thereof, while simultaneously preventing wrinkling or bunching in each and every area of the garment.

The present invention satisfactorily solves the problem by fully meeting the above requisites. It comprises a dickey which is knitted from a completely stretchable fabric. Thus, since the fabric tends to assume the contours of the wearers upper torso, there is little likelihood that wrinkling, bunching and so forth will occur anywhere in the garment.

Moreover, an elastic band is affixed to the lower extremity of the garment completely around the circumference thereof. This elastic band is constructed in such a manner that it tends to provide an added degree of adherence or clingability of the garment to the torso of the wearer so that the tendency of the garment to ride up while being worm is effectively impeded.

Furthermore, the garment is made with abbreviated dimensions in order to preclude the opportunity for bunching, riding up, or wrinkling of the dickey. Thus, the lower extremity of the garment only extends approximately to a position just below the breastline of the wearer, rather than all the way to the midritf or hips. Also, the arm openings are oversized; i.e., they curve or flare inwardly toward the neck opening, thereby resulting in a garment the dimensions of which are abbreviated to the extent feasible.

In addition, a collar member of stretchable fabric may be secured to the neck opening of the garment in order to provide a balanced, attractive appearance of the garment, whether worn alone, or as a part of a composite outfit.

Consequently, a garment constructed in accordance with the invention presents a very flattering appearance while preventing the occurrence of wrinkling or riding up by providing a completely stretchable fabric of abbreviated dimensions with an elastic band of proper tension afiixed to the base or lower extremity of the garment so that the garment may breathe while remaining in place during wearing.

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, other advantages of this invention will become apparent in the more detailed description which follows. In the more detailed description of the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a portion of the dickey as worn under an appropriate outer garment;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the dickey, including the elastic band, which accentuates the abbreviated dimensions of the garment; and

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the dickey.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, the slip-over garment or dickey is generally indicated at 10. It consists of a main body portion or member 12 which is formed by affixing, preferably by sewing, two identical pieces of cloth to one another. The cloth consists of a completely stretchable fabric. While the fabric employed may comprise a natural fiber such as silk, it is preferred to use a synthetic fabric such as nylon in the principal embodiment of the invention. Also, while the garment may be woven, the fabric utilized in the preferred embodiment will be knitted in an appropriate manner. What is important is to insure that the entire fabric possesses a sufiicient measure of stretchability, so that it effectively counteracts any tendency to wrinkle, bunch or ride up while the wearer of the garment is engaging in normal activities.

Each piece of fabric which makes up the body member is pre-cut, prior to being sewn together, in such a manner that a pair of oversized or enlarged arm openings or armholes 14, as well as a neck opening 16 and a torso opening are formed in the body member 12. The arm openings 14 are formed as oversized openings in which the lines of the openings curve upwardly and inwardly toward the neck opening. In other words, they are shaped or formed in such a .manner the garment possesses a minimal amount of surface area, thus further diminishing the opportunity of bunching-up or wrinkling.

If desired, a collar member 18 of stretchable fabric, which may be comprised of the same fabric (that is, nylon) as employed in the body member 12, may be sewn or otherwise secured to the neck opening 16 of the garment. The collar member can possess a tubular configuration in order to impart a turtleneck appearance to the garment as a whole, or it may be a boat neck, V-neck or the like. A zipper (not shown in the drawings) may also be included to facilitate donning and removal of the garment.

An elastic band 20 is secured to the base or lower extremity of the dickey 10 by any suitable method, such as being sewn to one another. The band runs entirely around the base of the garment. If elastic fabric is used, it may include a plurality of spaced, parallel horizontallyoriented ribs 22. The elastic band, which is conveniently about A" wide in the preferred embodiment, should be at least A" wide in order to provide a suflicient amount of tension or adherence characteristics that the garment is prevented from riding up on the torso of the wearer during normal activity. The horizontally oriented ribs 22 also assist in obtaining this objective.

As disclosed in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the overall length of the garment should be maintained as short as is feasible. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower extremity of the garment (with attached elastic band 20) extends approximately to a position just below the breastline of the wearer. If the garment is too long, this excess length tends to permit the fabric to bunch more easily regardless of the amount or type of elastic clinging characteristics which are imparted to the base of the dickey.

While the dickey is normally worn under an outer garment 24, such as a dress, jumper, V-neck sweater, or ladies suit coat (see FIG. 1), it may also be Worn (especially during warm weather) without the outer garment, and the user will in effect be attired in an attractive blouse of abbreviated dimensions which may be worn with Capri pants or Bermuda shorts 26, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

Although the slip-over garment has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that variations can be made in the garment. All such variations as would be obvious to those skilled in this art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A slip-over garment comprising:

a slip-over body member knitted of completely stretchable fabric so that the garment when worn tends essentially to conform to the contour of the upper torso of the wearer and permits vertical displacement thereof without any substantial bunching or wrinkling, said body member having (a) substantially identical front and back torso portions which cover a substantial portion of the upper torso above the breastline of the wearer, (b) a pair of arm openings having edges which curve upwardly and inwardly toward said neck opening to further inhibit any bunching and wrinkling tendency of the garment by providing a garment of abbreviated dimensions, (c) a neck opening, and (d) a torso opening formed therein such that one can readily don said slip-over body member,

said slip-over body member having a lower extremity which extends substantially to a position just below the breastline of the wearer, and

an elastic member afiixed to the lower extremity of said body member around the circumference thereof, said elastic member possessing sufiicient adherence characteristics which tend to prevent vertical displacement of the lower extremity of said body member from said position just below the breastline of the wearer during any vertical displacement of said garment, said slip-over garment in the relaxed state when not being worn being substantially flat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,250,094 7/1941 Cornibert et al. 2--92 X 2,721,327 10/ 1955 Finkel 290 FOREIGN PATENTS 686,952 4/1930 France. 796,879 6/1958 Great Britain.

RICHARD J. SCANLAN, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 290, 

